Trump and Vance to hold virtual meeting with Zelenskyy on Wednesday ahead of summit with Putin – ABC News
US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance will hold a virtual meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders on 13 August, ahead of Friday’s summit in Alaska.
Source: ABC News
Details: Two US officials confirmed to ABC News that a videoconference between Trump, Vance, Zelenskyy and European states representatives is scheduled for Wednesday 13 August.
Prior to that, Zelenskyy said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is preparing for "new offensive operations" despite the peace summit in Alaska.
Quote: "Fierce front-line combat and long-range drone and missile strikes are ongoing as the US and Russia prepare for Friday's meeting. Ukrainian representatives are not expected to attend, though a source in Zelenskyy's office told ABC News on Monday that 'everything is very fluid'."
Background:
- The Trump-Putin meeting is scheduled to take place in Alaska on 15 August amid media reports that Washington and Moscow are apparently seeking an agreement to end the war in Ukraine that could cement Russia's occupation of part of its territory.
- On 11 August, Trump announced that Zelenskyy would not be present at his talks with Putin.
- The European Commission has urged Trump not to agree to a "one-sided" exchange of Ukrainian territories during peace talks with Russia, stressing that any deal must include security guarantees for Kyiv.
- George Barros, a representative from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), believes that Putin has so far shown no willingness to compromise in order to achieve peace in Ukraine, so the upcoming US-Russia leaders' summit in Alaska is unlikely to change this.
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